Funds Awarded For Community Health Initiative SPRINGFIELD, MA (WAMC) - Funding has been announced for a community effort to attack the myriad of health problems that plaque a poor inner city neighborhood of Springfield Massachusetts...WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.....

Nearly two dozen community groups and organizations in Springfield's Mason Square neighborhood have been awarded a total of 400 thousand dollars from the Mason Square Health Task Force. Officials say the neighborhood has high incidents of obesity, diabetes, teen pregnancy, HIV-AIDS and asthma. Coordinator Zaida Govan says the task force was created to address these health disparities.

The Mason Square Veteran's Center recieved 17 thousand dollars, which executive director Christopher Scott says will help pay for a diabetes outreach program. Other projects being funded include childhood nutrition education, an outreach to teens at risk of pregnancy, and the construction of a rail- trail path for exercise. Andrew Balder, a doctor at the Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center reviewed all the grant applications.

The grants were awarded during a news conference at the Dunbar Community center , where the City of Springfield's Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris urged the recipients to put the money to good use.

The Mason Square Health Task Force is funded by BayState Medical Center, the largest hospital in Western Massachusetts. BayState's vice president for government and community affairs, Steven Bradley, says the hospital has committed more than 3 million dollars over the next seven years to the Mason Square initiative.

Bay State Medical Center is funding a similar effort to address health disparities in Springfield's North End neighborhood.

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